


Not so Bad

by JayceCarter



Series: Kinktober 2018 [31]
Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Aftercare, Cuddling & Snuggling, F/M, Kinktober 2018
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-30
Updated: 2018-10-30
Packaged: 2019-08-10 02:23:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16461638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JayceCarter/pseuds/JayceCarter
Summary: John has to explain aftercare to Nora when she crashes.





	Not so Bad

**Author's Note:**

> Kinktober Day 31: Aftercare
> 
> WE ARE DONE. WE ALL SURVIVED. 
> 
> I am going to take a big fucking nap right now, lol. 
> 
> Thank you for hanging in there with me and supporting me!! I can't say how much I appreciate each reader who takes the time to read through my nonsense. You all mean the world to me. <3

  


Nora dropped her head into her hands, a slight shaking she couldn’t seem to stop. She felt stupid, foolish, and all together unhinged.

She wasn’t a virgin, so why had sex with John made her feel that way?

Then again, it hadn’t just been sex, had it? Nothing was ever simple with John. She’d had her share of sex since waking up, the nights when she found some woman or some man to spend an hour with.

John hadn’t just been an hour of no-nonsense sex, though. His rumbled demands, the way his hands had pinned her, the way he’d used his belt to bind her wrists and his sash to blindfold her, it had all been so much more than what she’d expected.

Not that she didn’t enjoy every moment of it. She still felt boneless and sated and like she could nap for a year, and it would be just fine with her.

The moment they’d finished, though, after he’d told her to stay still for him to wipe her off, she’d wanted to bolt. She’d wanted to put some space between them, to get her feelings under control, something.

John had frowned, the way he did when he wasn’t thrilled with her answer.

“You sure, sunshine? Don’t mind looking after you a bit,” he'd asked.

“I’m fine, really.” She’d slipped from the room, ready to be in her own space, to get a hold on how she felt.

But in the fifteen minutes since she’d been in her room, it had only gotten worse. That high she’d been on had left her, pulling her footing out with it until she shivered, arms wrapped around herself, feet on the floor.

The first small gasp hit her hard, soft, but like the first crack in a dam. She laid on her side and curled herself into a ball as if it could hold her together, her eyes shut tight as she told herself how stupid the behavior was.

Hands set on her arm, and Nora bolted up.

“Easy, sunshine.”

“What are you doing here?” The words came out uneven and lacked any of the bite she wanted in them.

Nora Jacobs didn’t cry. She wasn’t some damsel who got attached after a quick fuck.

John, as usual, ignored her attempt to scare him off. He crawled into the bed, his pants on but shirt and coat still gone. He moved over her, then pulled her against his chest. “You are really damn stubborn, you know that?”

She wanted to snarl at him for this cuddling bullshit, but instead, the tears she’d tried to keep in broke through. One rough gasp turned into two and tears ran down her cheeks.

John ran a hand over her bare back, pulling her closer until his lips pressed against the top of her head. His whispers soothed her even if she wasn’t sure what he’d said. She’d catch a few words now and then. _Easy. There ya go. You’re okay._

Each encouragement soaked past all her bullshit.

She wasn’t sure how long it took before her tears slowed. Even when they stopped, those uneasy breaths and hiccuping gasps remained.

“So, why’d ya lie?”

Nora rubbed her cheek against his chest, the warmth of his ruined skin drawing her. “I didn’t lie.”

“You said you didn’t need this. Clearly, you did.”

“This isn’t me, it’s you, you asshole. I’ve never needed cuddles after sex. Did you infect me or something?”

His hand froze on her back for a heartbeat before resuming its soft affections. “That wasn’t just sex, sunshine.”

“I’ve done it enough to know what sex is. I mean, it was good sex, but still just sex.”

He shifted, forcing her to sit up.

She kept her gaze down, unwilling to face those dark eyes, reluctant to let him see the red, blotchy mess her face must have been.

He leaned past her, then pressed a warm cup into her hands. He must have brought it in with him. “Figured you hadn’t had much experience, but I guess I underestimated just how green you were.”

Nora frowned at the cup before setting it to her lips and taking a sip. Hot chocolate? It helped chase away the chill that had returned when she’d moved away from him.

John kept talking. “What we did, sometimes that shit causes a sort of high, right? Like a rush of adrenaline. Sends you soaring up, which is great, but you know damn well what goes up has to come down.” He pulled on her, careful to keep from spilling her drink, until his back rested against the wall at the head of the bed, and she laid against him, between his legs. His hands went to her shoulders, massaging the muscles there, his voice near her ear. “So this? This is the crash. Doesn’t always happen, doesn’t happen to everyone, but it happens.”

“Lucky me,” she huffed before taking another sip.

“Ain’t a bad thing. I told you already, didn’t mind spending a bit of time watching over you afterward. Fuck, sunshine, I actually rather enjoy it. Part of the fun of turning you all mindless is helping get your feet under you again afterward.” He tapped her cup when she’d stopped drinking. “Sugar’ll help.”

“How long does this bullshit last?”

He shrugged, stroking his hands down her arms, the touch not demanding, just comforting. “Depends on the person. Sometimes it finishes pretty fast, sometimes takes a bit. Hell, sometimes this shit can creep up the next day. Sometimes you can feel great one time but the next time? Next time drop puts you on your ass.”

“Well, I don’t need this sort of nonsense.”

His chuckle made her back bounce against his chest. “What’s really so bad about this, huh? A nice drink, a little time to rest afterward? Ain’t so bad.”

Nora didn’t want to answer but after another sip, another stroke of his hands, the words crept out. “I don’t like needing someone. Sex is one thing, but this? I don’t like it.”

He offered a soft hmm in response, the sound not giving much away. “Well, long as you’re forced into it for tonight, why don’t you just lean back and relax, huh?” He took the empty cup after she finished off the last sip before she could lick it clean, and she’d considered it, and set it on the nightstand.

Nora, along with the help of his hands, eased against him until she was comfortable, the blanket pulled over the front of them.

“Ain’t so bad to have someone looking out for you, sunshine.” John’s voice was quiet. “Life is really fucking lonely when you ain’t got anyone.”

“Maybe, but it’s safer.”

“What fun is safer? You didn’t dress up as the Silver Shroud and kill off bad guys because it was safer. You ain’t a safer sort of girl.”

“I am when it matters.”

He clicked his tongue as if thinking. His hands stroked over her sides, wrapping around her middle, fingers dancing across her stomach in a mindless touch. “Bigger the risk, bigger the reward. Might be safer, but fuck if that makes it worth it.”

Nora let his words simmer inside her. Would this be so bad? The warmth of his skin, the way he smelled of jet, the ability to relax, it all eased her. It all threw her back to a time when she hadn’t had to be who she’d turned into.

Maybe she couldn’t get her old life back, but this? This wasn’t so bad. . .

“Maybe we could try this again,” she whispered.

John pressed a kiss to her head. “I’d like that, sunshine.”

Nora snuggled back against John and gave into the closeness, the peace, the quiet moment. His even breathing chased away her concerns and lulled her to sleep. Maybe this wasn’t so bad.

  



End file.
